Teen charged as adult in home invasion robbery and rape near White Center

By Ty Swenson

01/08/2013

By all indications, the apartment was selected at random.

Two young men armed with handguns equipped with laser pointers were waiting at the base of a set of stairs in unincorporated King County, east of White Center and just north of Burien (in Top Hat). It was Nov. 12, 2012, it was dark outside, and the stairs led to the unit of a couple in their twenties and their 18-month-old son.

A 20-year-old man pulled up to his house on 6th Ave. S. around 8:40 p.m. after watching a football game with friends. His 23-year-old girlfriend was inside, and their infant was sleeping soundly on the couch.

As the man walked up to the stairs he saw the two men standing on either side and, before he knew what was happening, handguns were drawn and he was being forced to the door with a firearm aimed at his head.

What came next was a traumatic experience no one hopes to endure, and one of the men authorities allege is responsible for the crime is behind bars, charged with first degree robbery and first degree rape by the King County Prosecutor’s Office on Jan. 7.

17-year-old Dailone R. Brooks-Harris is being charged as an adult for the crime he was linked to through DNA evidence. When police arrested him in his South Seattle home on Jan. 3, he claimed no knowledge of the events that transpired that November night, but his DNA told a different story.

The following is a summary of charging documents released in the case (please note all accusations are alleged until proven in a court of law):

Brooks-Harris and his still unknown accomplice forced the 20-year-old man to his front door and knocked. His girlfriend heard a loud knock and opened the door to find one suspect pointing a gun at her boyfriend’s head, the other pointing his firearm directly at her.

The gunmen yelled for the two to “Get down!” and the male was pistol-whipped, causing a gash to his head. The victims said their lives were threatened and one of the suspects said he would take their child, who was still sleeping on the couch.

The victims were ordered into a laundry room where Brooks-Harris allegedly forced both to take off their clothes and hand over their wallets and cell phones. Meanwhile, his accomplice ransacked the home while the infant slept.

Brooks-Harris asked the man where he was from. “West Seattle,” the victim responded. “(Expletive) West Seattle,” Brooks-Harris allegedly shot back, “it’s Deuce and Mobb (expletive),” referring to gang territory in the area.

The gunman then allegedly forced the female to engage in a sexual act on her boyfriend and then himself. At one point, he allegedly placed a gun against her head, asked “Do you wanna die?” and forced her to crawl into the living room to retrieve her purse.

The victims were commanded to stay in laundry room and one of the suspects yelled, “Don’t get up!” The suspects turned off the lights and shut the door.

The couple was trapped inside the room for 15 minutes, their son still on the couch, while they listened to the house being turned inside-out … waiting for silence.

It eventually came and they called 911. By the time deputies arrived, the suspects were gone along with cash, phones and other items. Their son had slept through the entire incident.

The follow up investigation
DNA evidence left on a pillowcase the female victim was forced to put over her head after the alleged rape was recovered by detectives and sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory for examination. On Dec. 14, a lab technician came back with a DNA profile that was ran against WSP’s database.

A match came up, linking the DNA to that of Brooks-Harris. He was in the database as a convicted felon, according to authorities, with prior convictions for attempted robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault, criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct.

A lineup of suspects was shown to the victims and they both independently identified Brooks-Harris as one of the men responsible, according to police.

Brooks-Harris is being held in jail on a $200,000 bail and will be arraigned on rape and robbery charges at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on Jan. 17.

We encourage our readers to comment. No registration is required. We ask that you keep your comments free of profanity and keep them civil. They are moderated and objectionable comments will be removed.